There's a lot of flack right now about journalist Brian Williams' account of his experiences
during Iraq war events in 2003. What he reports to us is considered by viewers to be based
on fact, so there is probably good reason for discussion.

The difficulty for journalists is that people want facts, but they also expect truth. The barest
of facts still carries subjectivity, but the bulk of the information still needs to ring true
when examined by viewers and critics. When a journalist is suspected of embellishing the truth
or of outright lying, the public bristles because the trust they have given to a journalist
is threatened. They perceive a personal affront from someone they have been trusting for information.
The local meteorologist is allowed a stumble now and then because they predict. A journalist
delivering news is expected to keep it clean and real.

Fiction writers also face a dilemna, not because what they write is fiction, but because their
fiction writing is still expected to contain at least some truth. Whether you write stories about
bacteria, humans, creatures from another world or artificial intelligence, there are universal
truths that need to be woven into the fabric of a tale in order for readers to feel fulfilled.